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"A Whole New Carpathian Clan!"

DARK CHALLENGE is the fifth story in the ongoing
saga,
which began with the award winning DARK PRINCE. Readers who
have followed the tale have already met Julian Savage, the
golden haired loner and identical twin to Aidan, the
Carpathian hero of DARK GOLD (third in the series). Julian
has made the decision to meet the sun. Not because he is
ready to turn, he knows that he is still able to hold on.
Not even solely because he is weary of the bleak dark
existence all mature Carpathian males must suffer without a
lifemate, but because of his curse, the loneliness of his
self-imposed isolation from his kind and even his beloved
twin, because of a mistake he made, centuries prior, as a
lad of but twelve years. Even then this brilliant and
skilled hunter had thirsted for knowledge. He had thought
he had found a mentor in a most charming and handsome man
of great experience.

The man had been cunning, a master of deception. Indeed he
was the foulest of all creatures, the nosterafu, a
vampire. The lad, eager for knowledge, had arrived early,
surprising his teacher in mid kill. Shocked and dismayed,
Julian finally sees the man for what he is, ugly and
depraved. Young as he is he is no match for the evil one
who forces a blood exchange upon him. The vampire can now
see through Julian's eyes and compel him to do his bidding
if he so chooses. He insures Julian's silence with the
threat that he could command Julian to destroy his own twin
on a whim. The vampire had staged enough convincing
demonstrations to convince Julian of the veracity of his
claim.

It is thus that Julian, not yet even a fledgling is forced
INto a solitary existence to protect those he loves. But as
he grows he becomes wiser and stronger until the vampire
can compel him no more. Still he can not risk the threat to
his people, most especially his brother. He has failed in
his search to find and destroy his tormentor and he has
little hope of finding a lifemate, for he feels he is
undeserving or such. He will perform one last task at the
urging of Gregori, the great healer of his people, before
facing the dawn.

The society of human vampire hunters have once again set
their sites on innocent human prey, in particular a woman,
part of a small singing group, whose voice has been touted
as "magical". It is Julian's mission to warn this woman of
the danger to her life. Then he will not allow Gregori to
stall his decision any longer, he will take his own life.

However Julian is floored by the voice of the singer,
Desari. Not only is she beautiful, but her song paints a
picture in his mind of silver and golden notes flowing
through the air around him. He is flooded with emotion. It
is this that momentarily dulls his perception. Though
invisible to the human eye, Julian's presence
distracts the attention of the group's bodyguard as well.
This allows the band of vampire hunters the opportunity to
get close enough to fire upon the group. Shots ring out as
the three musicians fall, mortally wounded to the stage.
Julian's only concern is for the woman. She must not die,
for the unthinkable has happened, she is
his lifemate.

Only his practiced skill as a healer saves the life of his
woman, whom he now realizes is a Carpathian such as
himself. Though he still feels unworthy and fears the
danger his tainted soul will bring to her, he can do no
other than bind her to him with the ritual words which are
bred instinctively in each male of the species. She is
given no choice in the matter. Having done what he can for
his lifemate, Julian anticipates revenge upon the
assassins, only to find that his job has been done for him.
The bodyguard is apparently a Carpathian as well, and as
unbelievable as it might seem, unknown to him and the
others of his people.

Many centuries ago when Aidan was still young, the Turks
had invaded the Carpathian Mountains destroying human's
and Carpathians alike. The womEn and children were the most
vulnerable, the losses great. Mikhail and Gregori, both
young men had lost their parents. While one of Mikhail's
younger brothers and a sister survived, Gregori had lost
his six year old brother and infant sister. From that time
forth the Carpathian's struggled with extinction, with
women and children already scarce, they appeared to be
cursed, for rarely did any new offspring live beyond their
first year and the vast majority were male. It had
been recently learned that some human women, those with
true psychic ability could survive the conversion process
with their sanity intact, and could also produce the much
needed female children.

For centuries Julian, in his solitary travels, had searched
the world for other surviving children of the massacre, but
had found no trace of any. Now faced with a ancient female
of his race, one who has no knowledge of her people besides
the small band of five she considers her family, he is
jubilant. Not so pleased and definitely not trusting are
the three males of the little band. In particular is the
leader Darius, Desari's older brother, who so reminds
Julian of the Dark One that he surmises that the two are
indeed the lost younger siblings of the healer himself.
Darius aged six had been the oldest of the small band of
six surviving children who had fled to Africa to save their
lives. Through his wits alone, Darius had led his small
family, and they had thrived. The group had moved
frequently, necessary because of their life in the public
eye, and fact that Carpathians do not age as humans do.

Darius has reason not to trust, the group has never
encountered others like themselves. Their only experience
has been with the depraved undead who are attracted to them
because of the women. Even one of their own had turned, had
raped the other woman in their group, the lasting damage
being emotional. Julian is amazed at Darius's strength and
knowledge, because he has not had the advantage of elders
to teach him
the ways of the people. His abilities rival that of Gregori
himself.

This brings up an interesting bit of speculation about
nature vs. nurture. Is there something in Gregori's line
which breeds this kind of man? Even Desari is amazingly
powerful in her own way. But on the other hand it has been
generally accepted by the people that each Carpathian male
had been born with the knowledge of the binding ritual
should he encounter his lifemate, but Darius had had no
knowledge that there was any hope of ending the bleak
existence he has come to despise. It is no wonder that the
group is so devastated by their former friend's betrayal.
It
also clues them in to the reason that the women have been
the target of the packs of vampires in the area. Close as
Darius is to turning, this hope is enough to make him hold
on. I also have to wonder at the validity of the concept
of imprinting. There is a rather unique relationship
between Barack, one of the other two Carpathians and the
victimized female, Syndil. Though the incident has caused
each of the males to scrutinize the others with great care,
Barack's overprotectiveness, far exceeding that of the
other males, has to make you wonder. No one quite
understands it, least of all Syndil. Is there something
more going one there, a trace of emotion perhaps? I found
this very intriguing.

In Julian's experience the woman of his species have been
vigilantly protected, turned over from father to lifemate
as soon as they reach majority (18 years), barely
fledglings. The teaching of these women falls to the
domineering males. This shocks Desari, a female of ancient
blood, who had gained power and wisdom in her own right
over the centuries. This is a source of frustration to
Julian as well, for his lifemate has a mind of her own, and
often chooses not to accept his guidance. It troubles him
deeply that she would defy his commands and risk her own
safety to assert her independence. No one knows better than
he the danger the shadow upon his soul may bring to her.

She is determined to stay with her family unit, to support
the shattered female, and to give her brother reason to
hold onto life. Julian the loner, hopelessly in love, must
learn to accept living among others for the first time
since his destroyed childhood, and the leadership of a male
other than his Prince, or risk losing the light of his
life.

And somewhere out there still lurks a powerful vampire
whose ancient blood courses through Julian's veins putting
everyone he holds dear at risk. Can Julian find and destroy
the undead, or has he found the light to his darkness only
to have it snuffed out through his own betrayal? Ah but
Julian is yet unschooled in the powers of the ancient
Carpathian women. Desari is not about to go down without a
fight, nor is she willing to share her lifemate with the
undead. Julian is no longer alone.

Compelling as always, Ms. Feehan's latest novel only makes
the reader crave more. Lest you worry for Darius's soul,
fear not. His story DARK FIRE is next, coming in 2001. I
myself am dying to know what the deal is with Barack.
Don't keep us waiting too long, Chris!

Julian Savage was golden. Powerful. But tormented. For the brooding hunter walked alone. Always alone, far from his Carpathian kind, alien to even his twin. Like his name, his existence was savage. Until he met the woman he was sworn to protect…. When Julian heard Desari sing, rainbows swamped his starving senses. Emotions bombarded his hardened heart. And a dark hunger to possess her flooded his loins, blinding him to the danger stalking him. And even as Desari enflamed him, she dared to defy him - with mysterious, unparalleled feminine powers. Was Desari more than his perfect mate? Julian had met his match in this woman, but would she drive him to madness…or save his soul?